A little defiance toward owner Robert Sarver might aid the team

He ranks among the most popular players in the history of a feel-good franchise, and his comments carry great weight on Planet Orange.

What if he spoke up forcefully when we needed him most, when owner Robert Sarver put on the blinders and refused to pay market value for Amar'e Stoudemire?

Answer: Maybe the Suns wouldn't be missing the playoffs.

I know some people want to feel good about the Suns' 106-103 season-ending victory over the Spurs. It prevented a symbolic series sweep from San Antonio, and denied our rivals home-court advantage through the NBA playoffs. Aesthetically, it made the final standings look a little better.

It's like getting a D on your report card. Anything less than 40 wins, and you're a failure, a bottom feeder.

It also was a moment of great sadness, proof of how good the Suns could have been had they not disposed of their All-Star power forward. It doesn't matter if you think Stoudemire was worth the money or not. It doesn't matter if Sarver had legitimate concerns about the player's long-term health.

This is all about philosophy and planning, front-burner subjects now that the Suns have completed their fall from grace.

When you have a legitimate championship window, you must keep it open at all costs, and deal with the expense later. Jerry Colangelo has taken significant grief for his spending habits while leading the Diamondbacks to the only major professional sports championship in this region. Major League Baseball still holds a grudge, and yet what Arizona fan wouldn't want him back in charge of the organization today?

With Stoudemire, the Suns nearly forged an upset of the Lakers in the 2010 Western Conference finals. Without him, they are a lottery team. The facts are indisputable, and the blame ultimately rests on one person: the businessman running a basketball team, even though I'm sure Sarver wouldn't let an NBA executive run one of his banks.

Sarver paid a lot of money for this franchise. He also inherited a great situation, a team on the cusp of its first NBA championship, only to burn through three general managers in five years; low-ball and lose two All-Star players; and turn last year's fairy tale into a losing operation.

Championships are about short-term commitment, and that's where Sarver let all of us down. The open window was there, and the owner slammed it shut. That's the legacy of the 2010-11 Suns.

But what if Nash had called BS somewhere before the end of the previous season? What if he and Grant Hill - unquestioned leaders of the team and men with impeccable credentials - weren't so diplomatic, tactful and concerned with being good employees? What if they weren't so respectful of authority?

What if this team had kept Stoudemire and pulled off a trade for Marcin Gortat?

That team could've won an NBA championship.

A long time ago, Nash was brash with his opinions. He wore a controversial T-shirt to the 2003 NBA All-Star Game, one that read, "No war - Shoot for peace." It was a public stance against the war in Iraq, and Nash was mocked by the masses, from a former naval officer (David Robinson) to those who thought a Canadian shouldn't tell Americans what to do.

Never mind that Nash proved to be right.

At the lowest points of the season, Nash let some of the frustration spill out of his mouth. In the past, he's made references to the financial priorities in Phoenix, and how the economics are different in championship cities. But he's never called out the owner by name, just like he never calls out a teammate in public settings.

To him, that would be bad form, counterintuitive to the team-building process, and none of our business.

Except it's our basketball team, and will be long after Sarver is gone.

Maybe that happens soon. By the time the 2011-12 season commences, the new collective-bargaining agreement surely will be tilted toward owners. Maybe the economy is much improved. And at that point, Sarver won't have Stoudemire's giant contract on the books, a contract that would've been a medical risk. The team might be very appealing to potential buyers.